Legislative Republicans have put forth a budget proposal that would bring state spending in line with revenues. This comprehensive proposal solves a larger portion of the state’s budget shortfall than any other plan being considered – all without raising taxes. The GOP’s solution takes the deficit head-on with measures to jumpstart the economy and put Californians back to work.

The plan provides much needed flexibility and fairness to California’s schools. It funds education at the levels guaranteed by the voter-approved Proposition 98, while ensuring more dollars go directly into the classroom – where they are needed most.

Most importantly, the Republican Budget Solution addresses the state’s short-term cash crunch and, at the same time, makes the necessary structural changes to our budget process to ensure California never again faces a deficit of this magnitude.

Slideshow: Budget Proposal PDF
Video: Senator Dave Cogdill [3.2mb wmv]
Audio:  Cogdill #1 [137kb mp3] -  Cogdill #2 [114kb mp3]

Today, members of the Assembly and Senate heard testimony from state government’s top budget experts about California’s growing budget crisis. GOP lawmakers said that there was no doubt that California is facing a severe budget crisis that requires immediate action during these tough economic times. However, they said that simply imposing higher taxes on hardworking Californians would amount to a taxpayer bailout of Sacramento’s poor decision-making and do nothing to address the root-cause of the budget deficit – years of overspending. Republicans said that the state’s immediate focus should be getting spending under control, reforming our broken budget system and promoting job creation..

Audio:  Cogdill [385kb mp3] - Denham [238kb mp3]